What did Rob Reiner post about Charlie Kirk’s shooting and where can the original text be found archived?
Executive summary
Rob Reiner, in a late-September interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored, condemned the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk as “absolute horror,” emphasized that political disagreement never justifies violence (“I don’t care what your political beliefs are… that’s not acceptable”), and praised Erika Kirk’s public forgiveness of the shooter; that video interview has been authenticated and resurfaced online after Reiner’s death [1] [2] [3]. The original appearance is from Piers Morgan Uncensored and has been circulated by Piers Morgan on X and reported and excerpted by major outlets, though full archival hosting is on the Morgan program’s platforms as reported [3] [1].
1. What Reiner actually said — plain words reported by multiple outlets
When asked on Piers Morgan Uncensored about his “gut reaction” to Charlie Kirk’s shooting, Reiner said “absolute horror,” described the footage as something he had seen and found appalling, insisted “that should never happen to anybody,” and added “I don’t care what your political beliefs are. That’s not acceptable. That’s not a solution to solving problems,” while also commending Erika Kirk for forgiving the accused shooter—phrases and framing that multiple news outlets directly quoted from the interview [1] [3] [4].
2. Authenticity and circulation of the clip
Fact-checkers and mainstream outlets treated the clip as authentic: Snopes reported that a video authentically shows Reiner reacting with empathy and sincerity to Kirk’s killing, and People, Entertainment Weekly and others republished the excerpts and context from the Piers Morgan interview as the clip circulated on social platforms after Reiner’s death [2] [3] [1].
3. Where the original text/video can be found or traced
The remarks originate from Reiner’s September appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored; Piers Morgan himself reposted the clip on X, which served as a primary redistribution point and a practical archive for the circulating excerpt [3]. Media reports and viral posts quote the interview’s lines, and outlets that excerpted the segment (People, EW, Axios and others) effectively preserve the text of Reiner’s comments in their write-ups [3] [1] [5].
4. Limits of available sourcing and what cannot be confirmed from the provided reporting
The reporting cites and reproduces direct quotes but does not provide a universal single public transcript hosted by a neutral archive within the collected sources; the published excerpts derive from the Piers Morgan interview and social reshares rather than a separately maintained official transcript cited here, so verification beyond the quoted passages requires consulting Piers Morgan Uncensored’s episode page or the specific social post shared by Morgan [3] [2]. If a verbatim, time-stamped transcript is needed, it is not located in the supplied sources themselves.
5. Why the clip resurfaced and the political context around its reuse
Reiner’s remarks were resurrected in coverage after his and his wife’s deaths because the remarks—condemning political violence and urging nonviolence and forgiveness—contrasted sharply with President Donald Trump’s public mocking of Reiner following the news; that contrast spurred wide republication of the Piers Morgan clip and commentary from hosts and outlets that framed the exchange as illustrative of Reiner’s stated principles [1] [4] [5].
6. Alternative readings and implicit agendas in circulation
Different audiences have repurposed the clip for distinct aims: supporters of Reiner and neutral reporting framed it as a moral rebuke of political violence and a humane response to tragedy, while partisan commentators used its resurfacing to critique Trump’s subsequent remarks—an agenda-driven juxtaposition emphasized by Piers Morgan’s own resharing and by outlets highlighting the contrast [3] [1]. The supplied reporting shows consistent sourcing of Reiner’s quotes but also an editorial impulse to use the clip as commentary on current political rhetoric [3] [4].